Sport

Andrew Gale is relishing the prospect of opening the batting with Yorkshire’s new signing Aaron Finch in this summer’s NatWest Blast T20.

The White Rose captain is set to form an exciting opening partnership with the powerful Australian as the county bid to bounce back from last season’s disappointing last place north division finish.

Yorkshire whetted the appetite by reaching the final of the 2012 competition, but they only won two out of ten matches last summer.

Finch is currently the world record holder for the highest international Twenty20 score having smashed 156 against England at Southampton last August, an innings which included 14 sixes. And his signing is a real statement of intent.

Getting off to a flier in the six overs of powerplay is crucial to any side’s chances of Twenty20 success, and an opening partnership of Gale and Finch is a mouthwatering prospect.

“The way Aaron played out in Australia and that knock he played at Southampton last year, I’ll just be getting off strike and down to the other end to watch him bat,” said Gale.

“I watched him in the Big Bash, and the grounds they play on over there are a lot bigger than our grounds. He wasn’t just clearing the ropes, he was hitting them into the upper tier and 15 rows back. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Quite when Gale and Finch will begin their alliance is unclear.

Finch will only arrive at Headingley after his Indian Premier League commitments with the Sunrisers Hyderabad team. Yorkshire are hoping he will be available to debut in their opener against Northamptonshire on May 16.

But yesterday IPL bosses revealed they plan to play their competition in a window between April 9 and June 3.

• Yorkshire have announced a three-day friendly against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road starting on April 8.